


Love on the First Page.

by reidbyers



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reidbyers/pseuds/reidbyers
Summary: On a case filled with literary references, you are called in to aid the BAU in their investigation. When you accepted their offer you weren’t expecting to become so smitten with their own resistant genius.





	Love on the First Page.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally posted on my tumblr "sapphicpage" so if you want to read anything before it gets posted on here, go check out my blog!

“The difference between a normal person and an insane one is precisely that the normal person has all the diseases of the mind, while the madman has only one.” You read aloud the quote on the paper handed to you before looking up at the two agents, one a dark haired male and the other a blonde female. “It’s Robert Musil from A Man Without Qualities, I’m sorry but why are you asking me about this?”

There had been a series of murders in the city, you of course were aware of this but didn’t like to know all the gruesome details. It was terrifying, someone was targeting female students as they left their college dorms and leaving them stabbed to death. What you hadn’t known was he was leaving pieces of paper with quotes on the bodies, quotes from classic novels.

“We believe our suspect to be a literary major, if you are willing we’d like you to come and help us with finding him. Having someone with your literary knowledge would be helpful in aiding our investigation.” Hotch said as he took back the piece of paper and handed it over to JJ who slipped it back into a zip lock bag.

You couldn’t quite believe what he was offering, you were just a literature professor, it wasn’t in your interested to go around solving crimes. The only reason they had found you was because you had been proclaimed one of the top professors in the city, two PhD’s one in English Literature and the other in English Language. Whether you aimed for the attention or not, all eyes were on you when it came to your papers and academic success.

But if it meant you could help stop another murder from taking place, wasn’t it your duty to be vigilant?

“Have you got any other quotes?” You asked, standing up from your desk to then walk around to the front. The pair shared a glance before nodding.

“Does that mean you’ll help us?” JJ inquired with hope in her voice, you just offered her a small smile and let them lead the way out of your office and out through the university. It felt strange being sat in the back of an SVU being drove by two members of the FBI, things like this never happened in your life because, well it wasn’t a novel.

They walked you into the police station where you could only assume they were set up, you tried to be polite and smile at the police officers as you walked by them but no one returned your kindness. You awkwardly tugged on the sleeves of your cardigan and glanced down at the ground, hoping that you’d be able to help them rather quickly then get back to work.

“Everyone this is (Y/N) (L/N), the best literary professor the city has to offer. I know you think you can work out all the quotes by yourself Spence, but (Y/N) really knows her classics.” JJ introduced you as you walked into the room where the rest of the team were, some standing and others sat with coffees in hand.

“No! No, I appreciate the help.” Spencer frowned across at his friend, you made a note in your mind that he was the brains of the group. You also noted how he was definitely the handsome one, all big brown eyes and pouty lips, his hair was longer at the first and filled with adorable curls. At least there’s something nice to look at instead of all those crime photos, you thought to yourself.

You saw a copy of another quote on the table and decided to reach for it, trying to ignore how everyone’s eyes were on you. Now that you were here the pressure was really high to catch the person killing all these women.

“My language is the common prostitute that I turn into a virgin; this is Karl Kraus from his book Half-Truths and One and a Half Truths: Selected Aphorisms. Is he saying these women are impure in some way?”

You looked around the room until you caught Spencer’s eyes, he was looking at you so intently you felt your face begin to heat up.

“He could be saying that he’s more intelligent than the women he is murdering, viewing himself as more educated and important could put him in a position where killing the people less smart than him would seem like a reasonable thing to do.” Spencer followed on from what you said, he stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall and walked over to you, asking politely for the paper which you gladly gave to him.

“I think you’re both onto something.” Hotch said before being interrupted by his phone, the atmosphere in the room seemed to change once he picked it up. It was almost like they all knew something bad was going to happen and when Hotch hung up and said there’d been another murder, it turned out they were right. “Reid, stay here with (Y/N) and go over these quotes. See if there’s something we missed. The rest of you, the crime scene.”

Everyone apart from you and Spencer began gathering their things and leaving the room, one of the men whispered something to Spencer but you were too busy looking over the other quotes to pay attention to what it was.

“As a lover or a dipsomaniac, I’ve no doubt of your being a most fascinating specimen. But as a combiner of forms, you must honestly admit it, you’re a bore. Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley, if that doesn’t scream narcissist then I don’t know what does.” You laughed softly before realising that your laughter might have been inappropriate, the last thing you wanted was to seem disrespectful. “I’m sorry, It wasn’t funny I-”

“Don’t worry, sometimes you have got to make jokes to get through the day.” Spencer smiled and brushed his hair out from his face, you noticed how much he fiddled with his hands and how adorable of a quirk that was. “I’m Spencer, I’m, um. I’m a big fan of your work by the way.” He said shyly before clearing his throat awkwardly and picking up another piece of paper.

You couldn’t help the way your lips turned up into a gentle smile, the papers you had written were nothing special in your own mind. A sense of pride floored you knowing that enjoyed your work, it made you warm to him even more.

“Nothing is so delicate as the reputation of a woman, Evelina, 1778.” Spencer read and you found yourself looking up at him with a look of shock on your face. You didn’t know how much of a reader he was but you were impressed that he knew all of the books that he did.

“You’ve read Evelina? Prove it.” You grinned, looking up at the handsome agent with a playfulness you couldn’t stop. He looked down at you with a raised eyebrow but softness in his face, he turned and leant against the table so he could look at you. “I revere you. I esteem and admire you above all human beings. You are the friend to whom my soul is attached as to its better half…”

“You are the most amiable, the most perfect of women. And you are dearer to me than language has the power of telling…you are now all my own.” Spencer’s voice was so lovely and calming you felt like you could listen to him talk forever, even though he was quoting the book it still felt like he was talking to you and it made your stomach erupt into butterflies. You hadn’t expected to feel so giddy around someone you known for such a short time and yet here you were, doing so many things you didn’t think you’d ever do.

Trying not to blush was the hardest thing you’d ever done in your life, you instead made yourself look down at the photos beside all the quotes, pictures of the crime scene. It was horrific seeing so many women with their lives cut short but it made you feel more determined to do your part to help.

“You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how… Spencer this doesn’t make any sense. Why would he start using romantic sections of writing after all the others being critiques of anything he could find; himself, women, the police..”

“The woman who this quote was left with must have been important to the unsub, hold on.” He took the quote from you and hurried over to the board where photos, notes and maps were pinned in a order you weren’t quite sure of yet. You watched as Spencer studied the crime photos until finding the right one, taking his phone out and dialling someone’s number.

“Hotch, he was involved somehow with Maria Peters, the fourth victim-”

“Virginia State University, I have friends there and they’re studying Gone with the Wind. Actually, they’ve studied all the books quoted here in the past.” The dawning realisation of the things you hadn’t picked up on hit you and you started to feel a little sick, you knew it wasn’t your fault for not being able to help before as you didn’t know any of the pieces left behind but a guilt was still harboured.

“He’s a student at Virginia State, along with the narcissism, obsessive compulsive and lashing out towards women Garcia should be able to narrow him down.” Your body flooded with relief, clasping your hands over your beating heart. Spencer looked over at you and smiled, it had been his recommendation to bring you here to help and while he knew your brilliant brain would have been helpful, he hadn’t expected to warm to you so quickly.

After hanging up the phone Spencer was quickly engulfed in a hug from you, you were much shorter than him so your head rested against his chest. For a moment Spencer froze before he gained the courage to hug you back, his arms lacing gently around your body. He could smell your floral perfume and feel the warmth of your body radiating off of you, it was one of the few times he had wanted to continue hugging someone.

“I don’t even enjoy Gone with the Wind that much, I believe it’s overrated.” You smiled and helped Spencer clean up the table, handing over the photographs and the paper. You were glad to have been of some assistance, if you had learnt anything it was that you and Spencer made a pretty good team. Your intellects matched up perfectly in a way like two puzzle pieces; you can see the picture on your own but together it is much clearer.

“Really? Could you think of a better love quote he could have used?” He smiled and your heart ached at the sight of his perfect teeth and the adorable crinkle of his nose.

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” It was cliche, cheesy and maybe a little over dramatic but you still loved it. You liked the idea of soulmates, someone who was perfect for you in every way. It was unlikely but when you lived your life being exposed to countless authors describing love in such beautiful, artistic ways it was difficult to not feel like that was how it should be.

“Wuthering Heights.” Spencer nodded at the choice as he watched you across the table. The way you looked was so graceful, your hair dancing gently as you moved around at the perfect heart shape of your lips were upturned in a smile; to him he looked like the kind of woman people write about when they talk about beauty.

You were too focused on cleaning up that you didn’t notice Spencer making his way over to you so when you went up to look at him and he was right there you jumped. A breathless laugh and shy smile followed, tucking your hair back behind your ear as you peered up at him.

“What about you?”

Spencer was silent for a moment as he looked at you, you could practically see the cogs turning in his head and you prayed that he was thinking about doing what you wanted. His mouth was so pretty, such intelligent and beautiful words flowing from those lips, never before have you wanted to kiss someone so badly.

“Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.” Spencer quoted in such a soft voice you could have sworn you had fallen into a romance novel, where the handsome man you had been pining over finally kissed you. You were about to tell him the book but his lips pressed against yours before you could, they were so soft and luscious you could feel yourself begin to relax into his touch.

When he pulled back, Spencer looked so surprised that he had actually had the courage to do that. It was so unlike him to have that confidence and you just laughed at the shocked look on his face.

“Do you.. do you want to go out sometime?” He asked timidly, prepared for you to say no but was pleasantly surprised when your lips connected with his again. Spencer didn’t always believe in happy endings but he had a good feeling about this one.


End file.
